Spousal Sponsorship Interview Questionaires, Experience, Preparations

[Hasan9999]

SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE

POSTED BY marty11:

Quote from: Fencesitter on June 20, 2012, 07:14:24 am
We're dying to know what was asked in the interview....but I'm sure at this point you have a lot of other stuff on your mind!

Hi All,

Well, I will try and go through our interview experience now, before all the memories fade away...

I hired an interpreter for my wife, so after we all got into the Consulate, she told us that when our number will be called on trhe screen, all three of us must go in, and from there the VO will lead the interview. There were very many people inside, the room was packed, and she told us that we might wait for several hours untill our turn will come. Surprisingly after only 40 minutes I saw our number on the screen, I checked three times, before telling them, it is us, so we went inside the interview cabin, where there was a lady VO. She decided that she would interview me first (I was surpised by trhat as well, but it was ok with me), so my wife was asked to leave the cabin.
My interview lasted about 10-12 minutes.
She asked me about:
- My children custody arrangements with my ex wife (probably just a confirmation, as this information was detailed in the immigration papers)
- How often does my son come home, as he is in University in another city (Hamilton)
- My future plans with my wife, to which I said that if she is granted visa, we have both thought in detail, what to do once she lands in Canada, and I also mentioned that I have plans if she is not granted visa and she asked "What will you do ?", and I said that I will appeal her decision in Canada.
- If I met her son and the circumstances and if we spent time together, and the answer was yes, with all the necessary details.
- Communication between us, how do we communicate, how often and by what means, as she knew that my wife speaks broken English, and at the end she added that she would ask my wife a few questions in English, to see how she understands and answers them, just to check my wife's English skills.
- Education compatibility between us.
- Wheather accomodation for my wife in Canada.
I answered with many details to all her questions and with much self confidence, and by this I wanted to answer some of their unasked questions, specially for my wife.
After that I was invited out and my wife was called in.

Her interview lasted about 20 minutes.
She was asked about:
- If she knows that I have two children.
- Custody arrangements for my children.
- If I live with anybody at home.
- My son's school, and where and how often does he come home.
- If she applied before for immigration to Canada.
- If my wife is pregnant now.
- What will she do after she lands in Canada.
- Why her son and her father did not attend our wedding party.
- She was showed a picture from our wedding party and was asked who were the persons in picture.
- How we communicate, and how our communication improved over time, after our first meeting in HK, last year in Jan.
- How is the weather in my town where I live, and if she could accomodate to the climate change.
- She was asked to confirm that her son will not accompany her in Canada, for now, as her son is in her ex-husband custody.
- How soon can she come to Canada, and if she can come before July 17, and of course, she said Yes to that.

So after she was done, my wife came out all smiling, I asked if she passed, she said yes, and the tranlsator lady congratulated us.
She was told that she has to come back next week, most probably on Tuesday, June 26, to get her visa, but was advised to check her e-mail every day, as the VO will communicate to her the details.
The VO gave back to my wife all the additional papers we provided as proof of our relationship, so she had her hands full of papers and photos, and she was so excited that she half of the papers fall down on the floor.
However, the VO officer kept the copy of the health insurance policy I bought for my wife in Ontario, the bank branch manager letter stating that we have an account in both names, with secured funds and the updated IMM forms and some of the papers my wife brought regarding her son custody arrangements and support.
The questions were the standard ones, nothing out of the ordinary, and tailored to our case.
The VO officer was very profficient in conducting the interview.

So in the evening, I bought her plane ticket for July 12.

And then, yesterday in the evening my wife was checking her e-mail, and there was one, stating, and here comes the twist, that her visa assesment needs further evaluation which should be completed in no more than three months, that she might need to redo the medicals and to not buy any plane ticket yet.

So we both were very dissapointed by this. Anyway, I was lucky enough that I bought that plane ticket with Cancellation Insurance, so I will get my money back. However, I was thinking to not cancell it yet, what if that assesment gets done until July 5, let's say ? So I am thinking cancelling the flight on July 10, just 2 days before the flight. Maybe we are lucky.
Meanwhile she would check her e-mail daily.

So tomorrow, she goes back to China and I fly back to Canada. So the wait is almost over, but with still a small degree of uncertainty.

Hope this helps any interested party on this forum.

THEY GOT THE VISA EVENTUALLY!

 

[Hasan9999]

NEGATIVE INTERVIEW TURNED POSITIVE:


POSTED BY Angel.forever:


January 26, 2013

Ours was a second marriage for both , n his parents r not happy with it . Honestly speaking mine is a very complicated case , which if I won't still can't explain on this forum ..

Ur husband being with u will of course be a plus point , but if he really can't im sure things won't go against u for dis at all .

They asked many questions , general bout his job , his shift timings , how long it takes him to drive to his work place , where he stayed when he first landed in canada . Name of his friends , 3-4times he said that my husbands ex wife has landed in canada , which was not true . He opened my file and said I have records that his ex wife has landed , but I replied very confidently that his ex wife did get her visa , but she never landed in canada for sure . About my ex husband and my relation with him . And also many personal question ( really personal ) . But I had no hitch in answering coz I thought that they r doing their job .

But when he returned me my passport , it was like end of the world for me , but I didn't touch my passport at all and started explaining the minuses of my case in detail .

But at the end my exp says , though the VO scares u to death , but at times they can be very kind .. He heard me at the end , changed his mind , believed me ... I always pray for that VO .may god really really bless him .

........My in laws were also not there , infact no one there from his side . The VO did question me about it , not once but again n again in different ways ... He also asked my husband the same questions separately . The VO after questioning my husband again called me n asked me the same question , I stuck to my answers , then he said u know ur husband has a different answers to all this . I said I don't know what he answered n why he answered , but what I'm saying is the truth ..

At one point he returned me my passport saying that I will not go ahead ,,, after that i never gave up . I kept talking n explaining ( thinking that nothing worse can happen as it is he is not accepting my case ) but after me talking for 10-15 mins , he slowly took my passports back n said u provide me with the requested documents n I will grant u the visa .... I could not believe my ears , but that was true because my husband was there to hear all this .

Pls don't get scared if initially he says no ,, talk very confidently . During the whole process I was noticing that he was seeing my body language ...

After coming out of the embassy I just hugged my husband on the street n cried ......

 

[Hasan9999]

INTERVIEWS ARE NOT MANDATED TO BE RECORDED

POSTED BY hicks74:

I am also very disappointed that interviews are not mandated to be recorded. Perhaps if they were, and VOs were forced to be more honest and fair we would not need such a long appeal process.

A couple of other things that I start to wonder about, how many sponsors who cannot attend the interview in person actually get called by the VO? I know I did not get called, which bothers me since the VO asked my wife to describe the work I do. I don't recall anywhere in the application I described my job. So how can the VO confirm the answer my wife gave?

I try very hard not to be depressed or angry, but I do find I am fighting some fits of rage about the interview.

 

[soblue3]

INTERVIEWS ARE NOT MANDATED TO BE RECORDED

POSTED BY hicks74:

I am also very disappointed that interviews are not mandated to be recorded. Perhaps if they were, and VOs were forced to be more honest and fair we would not need such a long appeal process.

A couple of other things that I start to wonder about, how many sponsors who cannot attend the interview in person actually get called by the VO? I know I did not get called, which bothers me since the VO asked my wife to describe the work I do. I don't recall anywhere in the application I described my job. So how can the VO confirm the answer my wife gave?

i also wish the interviews were recorded..the more my husband tells me about the things the VO said to him the more upsetting it is for me...for example she asked him which country i was born in and when he told her she said...oh so first she came to Canada and now she is trying to bring you there...that is so ridiculous considering canada is the country of immigrants and from the way he described her she was surely not Aboriginal. i wish i could complain somewhere ..what gives them the right to be so rude.
oh and another thing...she made him feel so bad that he did not bring papers from work...looool...no where in the email did it say to bring anything related to his job...it only said to bring proof of our relationship from beginning till present....and of course she did not want that because i send them enough....lol

 

[Hasan9999]

INTERVIEWS ARE NOT MANDATED TO BE RECORDED

POSTED BY hicks74:

I am also very disappointed that interviews are not mandated to be recorded. Perhaps if they were, and VOs were forced to be more honest and fair we would not need such a long appeal process.

A couple of other things that I start to wonder about, how many sponsors who cannot attend the interview in person actually get called by the VO? I know I did not get called, which bothers me since the VO asked my wife to describe the work I do. I don't recall anywhere in the application I described my job. So how can the VO confirm the answer my wife gave?

i also wish the interviews were recorded..the more my husband tells me about the things the VO said to him the more upsetting it is for me...for example she asked him which country i was born in and when he told her she said...oh so first she came to Canada and now she is trying to bring you there...that is so ridiculous considering canada is the country of immigrants and from the way he described her she was surely not Aboriginal. i wish i could complain somewhere ..what gives them the right to be so rude.
oh and another thing...she made him feel so bad that he did not bring papers from work...looool...no where in the email did it say to bring anything related to his job...it only said to bring proof of our relationship from beginning till present....and of course she did not want that because i send them enough....lol

The interview could be more professional with recording. I think all IAD appeal hearings are recorded and CDs are available on payment.

 

[ninakap30]

so ıf we have an ıntervıew the procedure wıll be lıke thıs?they wıll take one by one seperately the sponsor and sthe sponsored spouse to check ıf the couple wıll say dıfferent thıngs?

 

[Hasan9999]

so ıf we have an ıntervıew the procedure wıll be lıke thıs?they wıll take one by one seperately the sponsor and sthe sponsored spouse to check ıf the couple wıll say dıfferent thıngs?

Yes if the sponsor is present in the interview. Sponsor's presence is always good. The interviewer will cross check by asking many questions separately to both of them to see if the answers are perfectly matching or not. Most importantly the interviewer will closely watch body languages and level of confidence as demonstrated by the sponsor/applicant during the entire time of the interview.

 

[Hasan9999]

INTERVIEW WAS NOT ANTICIPATED........

POSTED BY CanucksFan(Vienna VO):

My husband and I have been married since 2005 and have 2 kids, so the Visa Officer said to my husband: "OH, I have nothing to ask about your marriage", he briefly went over his military book, police certificates for both my husband and stepson, discussed those, and at the end said it was all fine, fees paid, saw that the new medicals had to be done and said: "So as soon as you do the second medical, everything will be done. You should be home by New Years". We are to date still not sure what the interview was for. We finished the second medical and sent the updated Background forms as requested on November 29th, and have been waiting since. Not sure why. I guess they put our file in queue and we are waiting for the final review. Hopefully one of these days. Don't worry about the interview, being true to yourself, honest, with integrity is what they need to see. Bring as much info as you can, because they are too busy and maybe have forgotten or overlooked something you sent them already...the more you present, the better. I was there with my kids in the waiting room, while the hubby and son were in the interview room.
I know there has been a lot of debate about redoing the medicals, from our experience: maybe if had them redone before the interview, we could have had the passports stamped right there and then. And FYI: family class applicants CAN have the second medical done without the instructions from the visa office. So it's up to you.

 

[Hasan9999]

INTERVIEW WAS NOT ANTICIPATED........

POSTED BY CanucksFan(Vienna VO):

My husband and I have been married since 2005 and have 2 kids, so the Visa Officer said to my husband: "OH, I have nothing to ask about your marriage", he briefly went over his military book, police certificates for both my husband and stepson, discussed those, and at the end said it was all fine, fees paid, saw that the new medicals had to be done and said: "So as soon as you do the second medical, everything will be done. You should be home by New Years". We are to date still not sure what the interview was for. We finished the second medical and sent the updated Background forms as requested on November 29th, and have been waiting since. Not sure why. I guess they put our file in queue and we are waiting for the final review. Hopefully one of these days. Don't worry about the interview, being true to yourself, honest, with integrity is what they need to see. Bring as much info as you can, because they are too busy and maybe have forgotten or overlooked something you sent them already...the more you present, the better. I was there with my kids in the waiting room, while the hubby and son were in the interview room.
I know there has been a lot of debate about redoing the medicals, from our experience: maybe if had them redone before the interview, we could have had the passports stamped right there and then. And FYI: family class applicants CAN have the second medical done without the instructions from the visa office. So it's up to you.

I am not sure if the last comment above is correct! Applicant can do second medical without any instruction from the visa office. Any comment will be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[ninakap30]

sooo..in my case!!!ı kow my husband sınce 2007 met on lıne and after 8 months met face to face.we started relatıonshıp but after some tıme we splıtted up...after 2 years(durıng thıs perıod we were contactıng each other whıle we could not forget )we met agaın...ı was lıvıng ın Greece he was lıvıng ın Turkey!!!I am Greek Canadıan...we marrıed July of 2012.ın fact our hıstory ıs a lıttle love romance whıle my famıly dıdnt want hım caused us a lot of problem...and ı dıdnt reveal them my marrıage....The last 2 years ı lıve ın turkey wıth my husband.ı entone them that when ı was ın relatıonshıp wıth my husband ı was just a Greek cıtızen.my canadıan cıtızenshıp was acquısted ın October of 2013(applıed Aprıl of 2012).My mother dıed ın the meanwhıle so she never learnt the marrıage.ın all these ı was lucky enough whıle ın our fcb accouts we had kept that convesratıons....talkıng for my famıly problems tıll makıng preparatıons for our marrıage.and not only thıs but expressıng our emotıons lıke ı mıss you ı love u etc....do they gıve ımportance at facebook?ı prınted 300 pages.........hope the fcb conversatıons ara ımportant for them cause ıs just what we have

 

[chala]

This is a very informative thread and will be a great help to those who have been scheduled for an interview. I was wondering if anyone can share their interview experience at Los Angeles. I'm scheduled to be interviewed there in August.

 

[Hasan9999]

sooo..in my case!!!ı kow my husband sınce 2007 met on lıne and after 8 months met face to face.we started relatıonshıp but after some tıme we splıtted up...after 2 years(durıng thıs perıod we were contactıng each other whıle we could not forget )we met agaın...ı was lıvıng ın Greece he was lıvıng ın Turkey!!!I am Greek Canadıan...we marrıed July of 2012.ın fact our hıstory ıs a lıttle love romance whıle my famıly dıdnt want hım caused us a lot of problem...and ı dıdnt reveal them my marrıage....The last 2 years ı lıve ın turkey wıth my husband.ı entone them that when ı was ın relatıonshıp wıth my husband ı was just a Greek cıtızen.my canadıan cıtızenshıp was acquısted ın October of 2013(applıed Aprıl of 2012).My mother dıed ın the meanwhıle so she never learnt the marrıage.ın all these ı was lucky enough whıle ın our fcb accouts we had kept that convesratıons....talkıng for my famıly problems tıll makıng preparatıons for our marrıage.and not only thıs but expressıng our emotıons lıke ı mıss you ı love u etc....do they gıve ımportance at facebook?ı prınted 300 pages.........hope the fcb conversatıons ara ımportant for them cause ıs just what we have

As you described, you are married and living with your husband at his country instead of living at your country of origin or in Canada. This is a plus point as far as relationship is concerned. It doesn't matter if your family likes your relationship. It's up to CIC to assess your eligibility to sponsor your spouse. If you have provided sufficient relationship proofs alongside some documentation to return to Canada, I think there is no need to worry. Meanwhile just keep on gathering ongoing relationship proofs for future submission, if required in future.

 

[Hasan9999]

This is a very informative thread and will be a great help to those who have been scheduled for an interview. I was wondering if anyone can share their interview experience at Los Angeles. I'm scheduled to be interviewed there in August.

The following is a repost on LA interview experience. Check it out.

INTERVIEW FOR OUTLAND APPLICANT IN LA:

Hi guys, I had interview yesterday and I got approved. It was a short one and we were out in 25 minutes although we had to wait for about 1.30 hr from our schedule time. And yes she interviewed both me and my wife together in 25 minutes. There were only two interviews including ours. VO interviewed the other couple for over 90 minutes and refused them. Do not expect this LA office to be very big like buffalo there were only 4 people in there including security guy and visa officer.

Anyhow guys thanks everyone for helping my queries you guys are amazing and I love this forum. This forum helped me way way more than my lawyer, honestly.

Few more questioned she said she is sending medical and fingerprint request to me on lawyers email, hopefully I will get it today. Question is how long will it take now after I done with both? She said medical is taking 4 months now but I doubt it.

Second question, she said your status is expiring in month and half and its your responsibility to remain in status until you land. She suggest me to apply for TRV as visitor and she said you have 90 days after your status expires.........


I was interviewed(sponsored by my wife) and the main reason was my education. They wanted to know in detail where I took education and when I completed my programs. They wanted to see my transcripts. Although education documents are not in the checklist of spousal application but I highly recommend to include it, otherwise it can waste your precious time like it wasted my one whole year especially if you are living in canada with your spouse.

 

[soblue3]

On Friday will be 3 weeks since the interview. Still no change on Ecas and no news. Getting very anxious. Today have send the consent for information release form to my husband. Time to order the notes. I am scared to see what that VO wrote about the interview but i guess i better.

 

[Hasan9999]

On Friday will be 3 weeks since the interview. Still no change on Ecas and no news. Getting very anxious. Today have send the consent for information release form to my husband. Time to order the notes. I am scared to see what that VO wrote about the interview but i guess i better.

Have patience. You tried your best. Yes once you receive GCMS notes, you will know even clearly.